You were one of the cardinals who elected Francis, and presumably you had some idea of what kind of pope he would be. To what extent has it turned out the way you expected?<\/strong><\/p>\nIn some ways, it\u2019s been exactly what I expected. One of the things we looked for was a very savvy pastor, a good man on the ground. To use the expression of [Cardinal] George Pell [of Australia], we wanted somebody with \u201cdirty boots,\u201d because he\u2019s used to going through the sheep fields. We got that, and we got it in spades.<\/p>\n
The simplicity, sincerity, humility, that ability to speak from the heart which the world is seeing now, are all things we\u2019d heard about him. One of the cardinals said we needed somebody with the mind of Benedict and the heart of John Paul, and I think we got it. He\u2019s been called the world\u2019s parish priest, and I think that\u2019s right on target.<\/p>\n
If there\u2019s a surprise, it\u2019s that he\u2019s even better at it than we had anticipated. We thought he was pretty good, and the reports we got about him in Buenos Aires were excellent, but he\u2019s doing it all on steroids.<\/p>\n
What would your biggest surprise be?<\/strong><\/p>\nWe also wanted someone with good managerial skills and leadership skills, and so far that hasn\u2019t been as obvious. It\u2019s a little bit of a surprise that he hasn\u2019t played his hand on that front yet. However, I think that\u2019s part of his strategy. He knows that the things we talked about a moment ago are more important because, in many ways, impression is reality. Having created this extraordinarily appealing impression \u2014 which, by the way, is very genuine \u2014 that he\u2019s a man of simplicity, holiness and simplicity will make it easier to do other things down the line. I think that was his first goal, and he\u2019s done it\u2026<\/p>\n
Is there any way in which Francis is having a personal impact on you?<\/strong><\/p>\nI find myself examining my own conscience \u2026 on style, on simplicity, on lots of things.<\/p>\n
For instance, I saw the pope open his own car door, close his own door, and carry his own carry-on bag. That says something to me. I used to do those things for myself, and it\u2019s not that I think I\u2019m above it now, but it\u2019s just that as archbishop of New York people are doing it for me all the time. That\u2019s a very down-to-earth example, but I\u2019m beginning to say that I need to watch this guy closely because he\u2019s a good example for me.<\/p>\n
I also find myself thinking about living arrangements, because that\u2019s a pretty nice house I\u2019m living in. In some ways it\u2019s not clear what I could do about it, because it\u2019s the historic, traditional residence of the archbishops of New York, and it\u2019s not like we can sell it. [Note: The residence is attached to St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral.]<\/p>\n
In general, I find myself thinking about some of the perks, the cushiness, we associate with being a bishop. He\u2019s pushing me to ask whether they\u2019re necessary, and if they might actually be counterproductive.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There\u2019s much more. \u00a0Read the whole thing. \u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That\u2019s New York\u2019s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, talking about\u2014who else?\u2014Pope Francis. From an interview with NCR\u2019s John Allen: You were one of the cardinals who elected Francis, and presumably you had some idea of what kind of pope he would be. To what extent has it turned out the way you expected? In some ways, it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,39],"tags":[1413],"class_list":["post-24919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bishops","category-pope","tag-pope-francis"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n